unc-chapel hill guest lecture

Presented to POLI 101 StudentsUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

April 6, 2011

Mississippi and AlabamaCarolina ’06NC Democratic PartyDuke Children’s HospitalNC Dept of State TreasurerNC Office of the Lieutenant GovernorCamp WellstoneDuke Non-Profit ManagementInstitute of Political Leadership

Mississippi and AlabamaCarolina ’06NC Democratic PartyDuke Children’s HospitalNC Dept of State TreasurerNC Office of the Lieutenant GovernorCamp WellstoneDuke Non-Profit ManagementNC Institute of Political Leadership

Structure of state government in NCContext of our system of governmentChallenges facing state governmentLaunching a career in government and politics on all levels

Any editorial comments during the presentation or discussion are the sole opinions of the presenter and should not be interpreted as official statements on behalf of his employer or North Carolina State Government.

Directly-elected Council of State• Governor• Lt. Governor• Attorney General• Secretary of State• State Treasurer• State Auditor• State Superintendent of Public Instruction• Agriculture Commissioner• Insurance Commissioner• Labor Commissioner

Gubernatorial-appointed Cabinet• Secretary of Administration• Secretary of Correction• Secretary of Crime Control and Public Safety• Secretary of Cultural Resources• Secretary of Commerce• Secretary of Health and Human Services• Secretary of Environmental and Natural Resources• Secretary of Revenue• Secretary of Transportation• Secretary of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention• State Controller• State Personnel Director

Independent boards and commissions• Over 200• State Board of Education• State Board of Elections• State Board of Community Colleges• Banking Commission

North Carolina Senate• 50 Senators• 2-year terms• Lieutenant Governor as presiding officer

North Carolina House• 120 Representatives• 2-year terms

UNC-system Board of Governors

Non-partisan electionsSimilar structure to federal courts• Supreme Court (7)• Court of Appeals (14)• Superior Court (46)• District Court (30)• Appointed magistrates

ColonialismWeak governorship Austere governmentDiluted powersCitizen legislature

Rapid population growth• 18.5% increase since 2000• 39.9% increase wince 1990

Changing population density• Population growth focused on RDU, CLT, ILM

Record budget shortfalls• $2.4B this year• 12.7% of spending

Political polarization

Changing political tidesShift from rural to urban powerNewcomersLack of bench depthNational trends

Who you know gets you in the door.

What you know keeps you employed.

It’s not about you.

Be versatile.

Demographics matter.

Age matters.

The world does not want to be changed.